Knowledge and Practices Among Mothers in Detection, Treatment and Prevention of Acute Respiratory Tract Infections in Children Under Five Years in Kandy Municipal Council Area

Introduction: Acute Respiratory Tract Infections (ARTI) cause childhood morbidity and mortality worldwide. Mothers play a crucial role, identifying early symptoms and obtaining proper medical advice. It was the aim of this study to assess the knowledge and practices regarding symptoms, treatment and prevention of ARTIs among mothers of children less than five years of age in the Kandy Municipal Council.
Materials and Methods:  A cross-sectional study was conducted with the participation of mothers having one or more children less than five years of age living in the Kandy Municipal Council Area. A questionnaire was used to assess the knowledge level regarding detection, prevention and treatment of ARTIs and values were compared with demographic factors.
Result: Total of 424 mothers were recruited age range 22-35 years. The majority of mothers (83.73%) identified pneumonia as a severe ARTI. The majority (74.23%) gathered health information from public media. Many children suffered from several episodes of ARTI during the previous year. A cold was the commonest symptom and 68.87% identified viruses as the cause. Half the mothers (50.24%) sought medical advice immediately, while 33.96% gave home remedies. Family members with ARTI were separated from the child (66.04%), and 86.79% tried to improve the immunity as preventive measures. A significant relationship was found between the knowledge score and educational level, income, and employment, but not the age, and number of children.
Conclusion: Overall knowledge of the mothers regarding ARTIs was not satisfactory. Mothers with a high income, high level of education and employment had better knowledge.